Butthurt anti-Paxton "prosecutors" attempt Hail Mary

"For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."
Galatians 6:8

Unable to continue fleecing taxpayers, the special prosecutors in the Ken Paxton case took a break from helping transnational criminal enterprises intimidate witnesses to engage in a new act of LOL:

State prosecutors pursuing criminal charges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton want to move his upcoming trial out of Collin County, arguing that it's the only way to ensure the proceedings are fair.

Their case has been "tainted," the prosecutors alleged, by the repeated attempts of the attorney general's allies to deify Paxton and personally attack anyone they see as working against him. The prosecution has become mired in local politics, they added, with everyone from county commissioners to state lawmakers and ex-presidential hopeful Rick Santorum trying to derail it.

This, plus the recent leak of confidential investigation material by a former TV reporter working for Paxton’s defense team, will hurt the prosecutors’ chances of finding an impartial jury on Paxton's home turf, they argued Thursday.

"The state of Texas cannot get a fair and impartial trial in Collin County. Neither can the victims it represents. This issue is simply not in doubt,” the three prosecutors said in their “change of venue” motion. "Over the course of almost the last two years, as set out over these 57 pages, Paxton's posse of spokesmen, supporters and surrogates — a clique herein collectively referred to as 'Team Paxton' — has embarked on a crusade clearly calculated to taint the Collin County jury pool."

....

If the judge sides with the prosecutors, Paxton’s trial will probably be delayed (*). If he sides with Paxton’s attorneys, it will kick off as scheduled May 1.

....

In their filing Thursday, the prosecutors also accuse former journalist Wayne Dolcefino of giving confidential investigation files to Watchdog.org, a conservative website that’s reported extensively on Paxton.

Paxton hired Dolcefino, a reporter-turned-investigator whose website describes him as “one of the most feared names in Texas television,” as an "investigator," the prosecutors allege. In the process, they said he leaked a file compiled by the Texas Rangers to Watchdog.org writer Jon Cassidy, details of which he published online.

[Author's Note Emphasis added.]

Read the whole thing here.

-----

* -- Bingo, because they want the trial to overshadow Paxton's re-election campaign.

-----

If you have a half hour, the embarrassingly poorly written court filing is a fun read:

2017-02-09 Change of Venue Motion by Cahnman on Scribd